Naruto  Prophecies of the Nine Tales  Chapter 2
by Emrys2010
Summary: The battle against the leaf shinobi and the demon fox rages on. The fate of their village lies with their new leader, the Fourth hokage.


** Yeah, this will be the second chapter of my first fan-fiction on Naruto. So far, the story's only at the part where the fourth Hokage fights the nine-tailed beast. This whole story is going to be a retelling of the whole Naruto series, in my own perspective and style. So a lot of events will be different, while at the same time similar.**

** No, there are no couples yet, but I promise there will be some as soon as I get to that part in the story. Just wait, they'll be randomized somehow. Even if you want me to put two particular people together, I won't. This is my fan-fiction! You can't change how I want to write it. Sorry, but I just see so many annoying and unwanted posts on multiple authors' reviews, requesting the author to put these people or groups of people together or asking where the heck is this person.**

** It's their story. Don't tell them what you want to see happen in their stories. If you do that, then you'll ruin their originality. So just shove off and let the author type their story their way. Wait for them to bring in the characters at whatever pace they want to. That way, things will be more intense in their story if you have to wait for a certain character to show up.**

** I'll say that asking for the author to upload as soon as possible because their story is awesome would be okay. Though just know that if you rush a creative person into finishing something quickly, then you'll notice how stale and boring their story or work becomes. So if you post something, don't ask them to upload the next chapter right away. Just kindly say that you can't wait for the next chapter to be uploaded and you'll bring the author high esteem. **

**Thank you…**

***DISCLAIMER***

** Oh, and I forgot to mention in the first chapter, but I don't own Naruto. Like everyone else, I'm only doing this for fun or to pass away time if I'm bored.**

**Chapter 2: Two Souls in One Body**

An agonizingly large amount of time had passed since Sarutobi and the other shinobi had been paralyzed by Minato's shadow clones. Their rising leader was now fighting the beast alone. Far ahead, where the creature was still a distance away, they saw the creature halt its movement for once. Things seemed to have died down. There was absolutely no sound that could be heard from any of the leafy forest's inhabitants or the intruder that had imposed its self upon them.

It was deathly quiet. Not even the wind dared to howl or whistle just to break this silence. In the distance, the shinobi saw the large, massive figure of the nine-tailed demon raising a paw. It struck down really hard and caused a cascade of seismic quakes that roamed the land for miles. From this, sound had finally returned to them.

"Lord-sama!" a few of the shinobi shouted with concern. The loud crash of splitting earth sounded like a huge explosion. They struggled again to break free of his jutsu. Through all their grunts and gasps, none of them were still able to release themselves from it.

"Kuh," a shinobi pushed. "What type of jutsu is this? I can't break free."

"Friends," Sarutobi shouted. "This is the fourth's special ability. He's mastered multitudes of jutsu and even developed countless amounts of his own. Apparently, this is one of those he invented and kept from us."

"What?" a kunoichi said. "You can't mean that he did this on purpose."

"I'm sure that he doesn't want to involve any of us," Sarutobi said. He felt a nostalgic feeling stab at him as he said this.

"What?" the surviving black-op said. "Why would he want that?"

"Idiot," another shinobi commented. "It's obvious that he doesn't want any of us to get hurt."

"That's part of what I think it is," Sarutobi said. "But something the fourth said earlier seems to throw things off. It gave me a bad feeling. I feel like even though he guaranteed his victory, there's still something he's hiding." The feeling of dread lurched within Sarutobi as the demon fox caused another series of earthquakes.

The other shinobi began to feel unease also. They weren't feeling uneasy from not being able to help the Fourth. They were simply being held by Sarutobi's words. Things were quite odd for this situation to end up happening this way. Every time the beast struck and broke the serenity of the area, the feeling of unease would intensify.

The sky was still darkened by the creature's force. The gray clouds shifted in one direction at a lethargic rate. The crashes of earth rumbled on as the fighting continued.

"Ah, dammit!" a shinobi shouted. "I can't take this anymore! If this goes on, then I…"

"Let's just pray for the Fourth's safety," someone said.

"That is all we can do," Sarutobi said. He shut his eyes and focused on nothing but that prayer. His concentration broke when he heard the other shinobi' gasping. In the location of the major fight, a pillar of translucent light was towering into the dark clouds. The clouds began to slowly evaporate as the light purged through it. A clear sky was revealed where the light had broken into the clouds.

The tower of transparent light began to glimmer in a beautiful pattern toward the sky. The clouds began to disappear as the light from the tower glowered. There was a pitiable howl that slashed at the shinobis' hearts as they listened to the sudden scream. They saw the beast encased within the lustrous light.

"_GROOOOAWWHHHH!" _it roared in agony.

**~The nine-tail's thought~**

_**Ahhh! I… will not… cease… to… exist…**_

_** Even if I am sealed inside this body, I will someday find a way to break free and eventually reign over this world.**_

_** Even if I am humbled into this weak and pathetic state, I will eventually return to the former glory I once had from my world.**_

_** You humans may think that you're so great…**_

_** You humans may think that you can defeat me…**_

_** You humans may think that you can make me bow down to you…**_

_** I'll just say that for now, your efforts will forever remain in vain.**_

_** For the day I come return to this world with full control over myself will be the day this world belongs to me…**_

_** I shall definitely return…**_

_** Believe it…**_

**~End of the nine-tail's thought~**

Sarutobi was nudged back to life from one of his fellow leaf ninjas. The ninja that awakened him was one of the shinobi from his dream who helped slow down the nine-tailed demon. He knew that the past event was just a nightmare, though it all felt too real. He felt a sudden fatigue overwhelm his body as he sat up. He noticed that they were in the leaf forest.

A vibrant air current blew through the forest and shifted the tree leaves. Some leaves fell from the trees and landed in a randomized harmony onto the forest floor. The sky was clear and brightly lit by the evening sunlight. Birds could be heard singing their songs.

The birds' songs had a specific melody incorporated into them. He listened closely to the tune and rhythm of their songs. His eyes began to sting as he recalled a memory from within his dream. It was of a sad memory. He wanted to leave his dream behind and continue living a peaceful life. He wondered what he was doing sleeping in the middle of the forest.

It was not alright for the Hokage to sleep on his job. Thinking about his title as a Hokage, he remembered that the fourth Hokage, Minato, would be taking care of the leaf village from now on. He relaxed a little after having such a thought. Now he could truly live a wonderful life knowing that the village he had taken care of for most of his life was in the hands of one of his excellent students.

"Sarutobi-dono, are you unharmed?" the shinobi who awakened him asked. Sarutobi looked at him.

"I'm fine, just a little tired after waking up from a nightmare," he informed with an airy voice. "I'll be fine if you let me rest a little."

"Sarutobi-sama!" a female voice said. "Goodness, you must've lost a lot of energy. I'll restore your chakra levels." She was an elite black-ops leader who was the first to spot out the demon creature. At least that was what he remembered from his dream.

"Ah, that won't be necessary," Sarutobi stopped her. "I'll be fine if you let me rest a little."

"Sir, you just came from-" she was interrupted by a group of other shinobi. They appeared from the canopies of the forest.

"How is the former hokage?" a male shinobi asked loudly. A few others trailed in behind him. They were all from his dream. He wondered why they were all here. He wondered how he himself had gotten there in the first place.

"He's doing alright, though his chakra level is really low," the female black-op reported. She placed her hands over his hand. There was a radiant glow of light as she focused some of her own chakra into his chakra levels. Sarutobi felt his body lighten as more of her energy slipped into him.

"What am I doing here?" Sarutobi asked. Everyone shifted their gaze directly to him. They looked tired and their clothes were all ruffled up. "What happened?"

"He doesn't remember?" a shinobi asked. "That's odd."

"Sir, do you remember what happened before the fourth froze you?" the female black-op asked as she pulled her healing hands away from his.

"Froze me?" Sarutobi asked. "Why would he do that?"

"No, he doesn't seem to," another kunoichi said. "I wonder if he hit his head on something."

"No way," a shinobi said. "Maybe someone placed a genjutsu on him."

"Idiot, no one here would do that," the female black-op said. "Maybe we just have to jog his memory." She turned her face toward Sarutobi. "Lord-sama, the nine-tailed beast is nowhere in sight." Sarutobi widened his eyes in shock.

"Nine-tailed beast?" Sarutobi repeated.

"Yes," she confirmed. "It looks like Lord Minato is victorious."

"So it wasn't a dream!" Sarutobi exclaimed. He looked around. Minato was nowhere in sight. "Where is Minato-san?" he asked.

"We haven't been to the area where he was fighting that beast yet," the female anbu said. "We were trying to locate you before we head out in that direction."

"Well, that's quite nice of all of you, but I am no longer the Hokage of Konoha," Sarutobi said. "You should all be concerned over Minato-sama's health more than mine."

"Yes, well," a male jounin said. "You have been keeping our nation at peace with the other ninjas during our lifetime. So we admire you for that."

"Why, thank you!" Sarutobi said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry. I must sound like an old person right now."

"Um, you are… old," someone bluntly stated. Sarutobi burst into laughter after hearing this. The shinobi around him made odd faces and joined in unenthusiastically.

"It's the truth," Sarutobi shouted happily. "I'm retired now. I'm awfully glad to be able to take a break from managing our village."

"We hope you enjoy it to your fullest," the female anbu said. "You rightfully deserve it."

"Things will be quite peaceful from here on out," the surviving, male anbu commented. "There shouldn't be much for the Fourth to do. All he has to do is manage our village along with our relation with the other nations."

"Speaking of the Fourth," the female anbu reminded. "We still have to check up on him." She helped the Third up and shifted into the direction where Minato was fighting the beast. "It's about a few miles down this way," she told everyone. "Let's go…" She took off in a flash and was followed by the rest.

The group ran atop the canopies of the forest. As they looked ahead, most of them noticed that the forest was not damaged. In areas where the demon's chakra had drained the land of its health, there were abundant growths of leaves and branches that replaced the dried trees. It was as if the struggle between them and the beast had never affected this place.

As the group of shinobi sprinted through this former endangered forest, they felt no sign of it calling out for help. Not long ago was it whispering toward their village. Through the voice of the wind, the forest had successfully warned Konoha of the arriving threat that was draining it of its very life. Answering their forest's call, the leaf ninjas quickly dispatched to go fight this ominous presence that would soon reach their village. In a matter of hours, the Konoha ninjas defeated this evil spirit and found peace for their village once again.

Things were looking up now. The forest had been rejuvenated thanks to the fourth Hokage's jutsu. Everything was back to normal. The inhabitants of the leaf forest wandered out of their little homes to greet the passing shinobi. Wind blew at a steady rate that scattered leaves from the trees. The evening sun was now angling a teensy bit to the right of the horizon.

The shinobi were closely approaching the location of their leader's fight against the nine-tailed beast. Sarutobi felt sudden stabs of pain poking into his skull. Something was bothering him intensely. Something that ought to be remembered.

He saw a shadowy figure form within his consciousness as he dashed alongside the other flashing shinobi. He tried to concentrate on the silhouette of the figure. It was vaguely familiar. As the group wandered closer to where the fourth hokage fought the demon, Sarutobi was able to view this shape in more detail. The shape was that of a masculine male whose hair was cut into disheveled spikes. This person had a ponytail that lashed out when the wind blew.

Color began to show as light finally shed down on this person. It was the fourth Hokage. Minato was slowly walking toward Sarutobi. For some odd reason, Minato was close enough for Sarutobi to see him clearly, yet at the same time too far for him to reach out and make contact with him. Even though Minato was walking toward him, he felt Minato's presence dim with every step.

After a few steps, Sarutobi noticed the presence of another person walking beside Minato. The figure was that of a woman. Sarutobi could not recognize the woman, but she was vaguely familiar. She was leaning against Minato's shoulder as they continued to walk at a steady rate. They were both looking down at something that was swaddled between both their arms.

Sarutobi was not able to see what it was, but he thought he heard a sound. It was indistinctly recognizable somehow. He recalled hearing it some time ago just before the fight with the demon fox. At the tip of his tongue, he uttered part of a name.

"Nah-" he began. Before he could finish saying the name, he saw the image of the fourth Hokage and the woman dissipate as he and the rest of the shinobi stopped running. Not far ahead could the group of shinobi view a figure resting on the clearing in the middle of the forest floor. The shadows of the nearby trees overshadowed the figure, making tough for them to distinguish who it was.

Sarutobi heard the sound again. It was a soft cry. A cry of a newly born child who he had met before. As the shinobi advanced toward the figure, they recognized it to be the fourth Hokage. The Konoha ninjas sped toward their slumbering leader in excitement and happiness. All except Sarutobi, who remained where he stood (just a few feet away from them).

"Lord-sama! You've won!" shouted a few of the shinobi.

"Shh!" the female anbu silenced. "You idiots! Can't you see that he's asleep?" Minato remained in the stagnant position. His face was calm and composed. He seemed to be untouched by time itself. "He probably overexerted himself like he always does. I'll transfer over some of my chakra."

"Yeah, you're probably right," a jounin male agreed. "He may wake up sooner if we restore his chakra levels."

"Geez, his chakra level's pretty low," the surviving, male anbu said. "I could barely recognize or sense him just from how small it is." The female anbu placed a healing hand over Minato's right hand. Beneath that arm, Sarutobi saw a small bundle of blankets tucked safely between his body and arm.

"Uh, something's wrong," the female anbu alerted the others.

"Huh? What is it?" a jounin asked. She withdrew her hands and looked at the others with an apprehensive face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" an anbu asked. "You're scaring the hell out of us…" The female anbu looked down at the Fourth and reached for his hand again. She had her hands placed over his for a short time again. When she retracted her hands again, she spoke with an air of desperation.

"I…" she began. "I can't… transfer any… of my chakra…" She was sobbing between each word.

"What are you talking about?" the surviving, male anbu asked. "The only time you can't transfer chakra to someone is-"

"-When they're dead…" finished the tearful anbu. The rest of the shinobi were shocked from hearing this.

"It can't be," the male anbu countered. "He's not dead. I can still sense his chakra."

"I can too," jumped in another shinobi. The rest agreed. The energy they were sensing was definitely the chakra of their leader. There was no mistaking it. The Fourth was obviously alive to all of them. Yet somehow, there was a bit of an oddity with both the situation and the energy. There was a sudden whimper that let out from under the bundle of blankets. The folds of the bundle began to shift a little.

"What was that sound," a shinobi asked. The group examined Minato even more this time. Held between his arms was a motioning lump of blankets that produced sound. Another cry was heard. The female anbu reached over to the swaddle of blankets and removed a layer of it to reveal the face of a infant child. It began to let out frequent bursts of cries as it awoke from slumber.

The group of shinobi stood around the two figures motionlessly. One was the body of their current Hokage. The other was the body of a wailing infant. They dreadfully realized that their leader was in fact dead and that the chakra they have been sensing was the child's. In the perfection of the day's events and outcome, this was what really darkened that day…

**~A few days later~**

News of the fourth Hokage's death slowly crept through Konoha. Many mourned for the death of their leader and savior. All through Konoha, people could be heard crying or sobbing as they sat in the comfort of their homes.


End file.
